NBC orders Awesome science series

US network NBC has ordered a new science show from producer Mark Burnett, US comedian and presenter Chris Hardwick and Silicon Valley tech outfit Singularity University.

Called The Awesome Show, the six-part series will cover ground-breaking scientific and technological advances that are shaping the future, as well as the pioneers and communities leading the discoveries.

Hardwick, founder and CEO of Nerdist and host of NBC’s new gameshow The Wall, will host, executive produce and develop the science show.

The comedian said the opportunity to develop a primetime show celebrating science and technology “was too good to pass up.”

Hardwick, who launched Nerdist 10 years ago as a tech news site and also hosted Wired Science on PBS, added: “It is very important to me to make something that positively promotes these topics in order to share humanity’s triumphs, to instil hope for our future and to inspire the next generation of young thinkers.”

The show will be produced by Universal Television Alternative Studio in association with Fish Ladder and Brillstein Entertainment Partners, with Burnett and Alex Murray attached as executive producers alongside Hardwick.